MSD’s Contraception Campaign in Empowering Women

——-Updates as of 1 July 2013 : New shots for a Malay talent completed with promo materials. See below.——-

This is seriously long overdue but I was just informed recently that the visuals have already been used in public. So here goes! I completed a commercial photo shoot for MSD’s Women’s Health Team back in early Oct 2012 as part of their newly launched awareness/contraception campaign promoting women empowerment by taking responsibility for one’s own sexual health.

MSD Malaysia intends to educate young working adults (of both genders, with an emphasis on the fairer sex) on the importance of family planning by making an informed choice on the contraception methods available that can be used to prevent an unplanned pregnancy. The team has decided to put a “face” behind this initiative, just as how the Vaccine Team has gone with the lady in a bustling LRT station.

Mudframes played the role of a creative agency here by developing a concept of the average young working female adult’s life revolving around the Work, Casual (Romance) and Shopping themes; activities which are familiar to the fairer sex.

Wardrobe selection was also made in consultation with the Client weeks earlier from the shoot. The shoot started at 9.00 am till 6.00 pm, covering three different wardrobe options per theme (i.e. 3 different outfits each for the Work, Casual and Shopping themes). That explains the huge amount of time spent per look per theme as after we nailed the shot down, we have to slowly switch the wardrobe and redo the makeup and hair style for subsequent looks.

It took the model about an hour to really get into the groove of things, after which, she relaxed much and the rest of the shoot was a breeze. However, we did spend more than the time needed to ensure all the various looks and poses were covered.

The suitable images were culled from a list of hundreds of images shot, before being edged-out and further edited for artwork creation later.

Besides being responsible for the concept creation and photography works in this contraception campaign, Mudframes was also responsible for the copy writing, slogan/tagline, translation works and finished artwork of all promotional materials as a final deliverable to the Client. These were bunting, poster, wobblers, plastic bags and non-woven bags as depicted below in the 3 major languages representation in Malaysia; Malay, Chinese & English:

You should be seeing these used in hospitals and clinics nationwide. The Client’s product’s iconic logo of a Butterfly was to be incorporated in our design works. A butterfly can be used to connote transformation and beauty, two traits which highly characterise the young female adult making the transition into assuming higher responsibilities as she journey’s through life. To portray this into the artwork, the butterfly is made to be seen extending from the model’s back, signifying her new-found wings.

Here are the final shots of the model depicting the three major themes; Work, Casual and Shopping:

The creative team during photo shoot day:

…and finally, myself and the model:

This has been a very exciting creative project that I’m very honoured and glad to be a part of. I really do hope to be involved in much more photo shoot assignments that goes beyond just picture taking; as the concept generation of it is equally attractive and fulfilling to me and my organisation as a whole.

Looking forward to the success of this campaign and more such similar nature of works. If you happen to see these in healthcare establishments in and around Malaysia, do remember that every child should be a wanted child.

Here are the new shots for a Malay talent and their corresponding promo materials done to better target this market segment as part of MSD’s contraception campaign. The talent was dressed in a traditional and elegant baju kebaya as an office wear at work. The session was completed in about 3 hours at my new SOHO studio at Seksyen 17, Petaling Jaya.